


Psychosis

by PortableAnimations



Category: Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Genre: Batjokes, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Analysis, Character Study, Codependency, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Post-Vigilante Ending, Tagging as I go, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, canon-typical behaviour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25556956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PortableAnimations/pseuds/PortableAnimations
Summary: After his short-lived reign of being a vigilante alongside Batman, John has been taken back to be locked within the walls of Arkham Asylum.When Bruce arrives a few weeks later to pay John a visit, promising a lasting freedom, John swears to take his recovery seriously. He's greeted with a new psychiatrist and everyone groups together to help find out what John’s inner mental instabilities are, how troubled he really is and how them and Bruce will be able to help in his long road to recovery.But as John starts speaking up about what truly went on after his first escape at Arkham, he faces problems in defining what his reality was within the Pact and struggles to see what is truly real and what is made up from fragments of memory and imagination.Even with Bruce's never-ending support, will John actually be able to step foot as a free man once again, or will the person he tried to bury inside of him once again be released to terrorise his mind?
Relationships: Batman/Joker (DCU), John Doe/Bruce Wayne, Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	Psychosis

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! Hello! This has been a long time coming!
> 
> I’ve spent a good few months wanting to write this ever since I came up with the idea in the first place. It isn’t the most unique of ideas, but I’ve went ahead with wondering: What would John’s recovery process be like if he was diagnosed with something like DID? How would that affect his recovery and his friendship with Bruce?
> 
> That’s something I’ve wanted to cover, because I can relate to John on too many levels and the fact that the initial idea interested me. So after watching YouTube videos and doing my research, I can finally present to you, ‘Psychosis!’
> 
> I really want to thank people from the Batjokes discord server I’m in for the support. Honestly ya’ll are the best *sniffles*. And of course, a few of my IRL friends too :>
> 
> But anyways, enough of me rambling, I hope you enjoy this!

**Ace Chemicals - 6:12 A.M.**

It was a dark and rather chilly morning in Gotham, as a pale orange glow settled and stretched along the horizon. It could warrant a day of warmth. Either that, or, there wouldn't be a sky visible. Only a blanket of mottled grey for the people of the city to look up to.

_Well.._

That and the eerie, radioactive glow that mingled with the constant black fog that would rise from the factories smoke stacks. It floated up high over the highest building tops, poisoning the fresh air of a new day.

The walls of the facility were towering, so at least they did a good job of keeping something concealed. Like deep, dark secrets of the past and present. Surely this place would be packed with them, given the extensive and unnecessary magnitude of it. At least _someone_ truly knew about that.

What was he thinking that fateful morning? Had he always been that _stupid?_ That _foolish?_ That _blind?_

All feelings he had had of the intoxicating environment slowly disappeared. Like he'd stepped outside of the boundaries of his own body and mind, taking only a small chain of thought along with him. He felt floaty. Not in a sickly way, but in a way that made him feel like he could do anything in the world, as though the curious child buried beneath had finally broken out and had the chance to roam free.

But then, he felt trapped in his own headspace. It was a dark place. Nothing was present there, nothing at all. No-one there to reach out to. Just.. a void.

It was confusing, and that terrified him.

He had similar experiences before. Like he was strapped down in the passenger seat against his will, with someone else who he never recognised driving him down a path he never wanted to go down. The sickness of reckless travel made him feel dizzy, so he closed his eyes, just for a moment.

Then, reality would set in.

_Be loved by you..._

And _God_.. if he thought that was the worst of it, he would sit there and do nothing until it blew right over. Just like it always did, like it always had. And he would be back. His thoughts would be his once again. Complete control.

It's always about keeping complete control.

But the catch was (and there was always a catch), was that he felt so disconnected from the world then that he _had_ to pry off the choking strap that seemingly secured him from losing himself entirely. He had to.

And so he would.

He has to show that he is strong.

_I will show them. For you, Bruce. For you._

He knew he should have been feeling an immense amount of searing pain in his left hand as he let himself fall. He knew he should be feeling an overwhelming amount of heartbreak. He knew it wasn't the adrenaline numbing everything to practically non-existence. He knew. He knew. He knew it all.

That wasn't it. Which meant the obvious.

His vision slowly faded to black that fateful morning, as the sun began to shine its first rays of sunlight on a city so precious to him. Just as he heard Bruce's hissing protests to stay alert, he closed his eyes.

Nothing.

Then everything.

John woke up with a start. Grabbing fistfuls of white bedsheets as he subconsciously heaved himself up and gasped. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and his eyes were blurry with tears. His hair was disheveled and it clung to his forehead.

He took a few deep breathes as he analysed where he was, doing just as he was taught: in through the nose, out through the mouth. It would always help, it never failed him. He clenched his tired eyes closed for a moment to let the tears run down his cheeks so he could see clearer. The room was dark and cold and damp, light from the pale moonlight only let through by the giant window next to his bed and above his desk-drawer, that held his essentials. Spare uniform, toiletries, any belongings he could grab a hold of before his freedom was ripped away from him completely.

He looked at the photograph on top of it. The one of him and Batman together. John was wearing a wide and mischievous grin as Batman clenched his teeth and narrowed his cowl’s shining, white eyes with the sudden flash. Then he kneeled down and opened the bottom draw, patting at the inside until he grasped a hold of what he was feeling for and pulled his arm back out. Now in his pale, shaking hand was a doll with a black suit, white shirt, red tie. It had two button eyes, a sown on smile and black hair made of felt.

_Soon._

John let his thumb run over the dolls cheek.

_Soon you say?_

Then he sat down properly on the cold floor, legs crossed but propped up so his elbows could rest on his knees. It held the doll a rulers length away from his face.

_Yes, soon.. I hope._

**Author's Note:**

> Woah! Finally done! Just note that this was a completely different idea from what I originally had planned, but I hope it still turned out alright!
> 
> Thanks again for people’s support on this, it meant a lot.
> 
> Welp! Onto chapter one! :>


End file.
